1. Field
The patent relates to the field of displaying video in a computer system.
2. Background Information
Digital video comprises a sequence of digital images. It is increasingly common to display (e.g. render) digital video in computer systems. A computer system is any device comprising a processor and a memory to store instructions and data to be supplied to the processor. Typically, the processor and memory are coupled by way of one or more buses. A collection of instructions e.g. software, may be executed to convert the bits of the digital video to signals to a display device, e.g. to render the video. Examples of display devices are monitors and flat screens, to name just a few. Many other types of display devices are well known in the art.
Software may generate a windowed interface on the display device. The windowed interface may include windows with elements such as borders, title bars, buttons, sliders, and icons, to name just a few of the possibilities. Versions of the Microsoft™ Windows™ operating system, a product of Microsoft corporation, are examples of programs which produce windowed interfaces. Window elements are typically displayed on the “foreground” of a window; areas of the window in which display elements are not present are referred to as the “background” of the window. Rendering video on windowed interfaces is complicated by the need to coordinate the rendering of the video with the position and operation of windows and elements of the windows.
Existing techniques for rendering video on computer system displays may obscure or interfere with the operation of elements of the windowed interface. There is a continuing need for a manner of rendering video in the “background” of a window so that it does not interfere with the display or operation of windows.